Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
2. Life Is Hard
3. My Wife's Home Town
4. If You Ever Go To Houston
5. Forgetful Heart
6. Jolene
7. This Dream Of You
8. Shake Shake Mama
9. I Feel A Change Comin' On
10. It's All Good

Disc 2:

1. Friends And Neighbours

Disc 3:

1. Interview With Roy Silver - Various Artists
2. Blowin' In The Wind

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3311 in Music
• Released on: 2009-04-27
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Deluxe Edition
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .41 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Already a worldwide chart-topper, Together Through Life confirms that the huge success of 2006’s excellent Modern Times was no one-off. And though the material here may lack some of the depth of that unexpectedly euphoric collection, it’s clear that Bob Dylan is not merely indestructible but an active songwriting force again. Tom Petty’s longtime guitarist Mike Campbell adds the necessary quicksilver, but the heart of this record’s sound lies further south than the Delta, as a Tex-Mex accordion dominates on songs like the moody opener "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" and the weary "If You Ever Go To Houston". The jittery Mexabilly of "It’s All Good" and the plain catchy "Jolene"(unrelated to Dolly Parton’s seventies hit) are the obviously commercial offerings while the hard blues of "Shake Shake Mama" and the witty "My Wife’s Home Town" (co-credited to the late Willie Dixon, writer of its template "I Just Want To Make Love To You") provide the grit. Although Dylan’s arrangements here are often as wistful as Willie Nelson at his most distracted, his vocals are anything but, the extraordinary sound of a man who seemingly hasn’t cleared his throat in decades. Almost uniquely in his long career, Dylan shares his writing credit with erstwhile Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, yet the pair of them must surely concede that this concise and enjoyable collection plugs into a self-aggrandising storytelling tradition that predates the pair of them. Together Through Life is unlikely ever to be considered a great Dylan album, but it is undeniably great fun, and that counts for plenty. --Steve Jelbert

CD Description
Together Though Life, produced by Jack Frost, was recorded late in 2008, prompted by the composition of a new song, “Life Is Hard,” which was written for a film by French director Oliver Dahan (La Vie En Rose). The album will be the 46th release from Bob Dylan, and follows 2006’s Platinum album Modern Times, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 and reached the top of the charts in seven additional countries and the top five in 22 countries around the world. Bob Dylan’s three previous studio albums have been universally hailed as among the best of his storied career, achieving new levels of commercial success and critical acclaim for the artist.

Customer Reviews

better than touted
I think this is a better record than most of the critics I've read have said. It's not so much about words, though there are some great lines here and there. Throughout the album, Dylan treads a fine line between bathos and banality. No, it's about sound. 'Jack Frost' has really done his time in the galleys and come of age here. It's warm, deeply human, somewhat fetid, yet bright, alive and immediate. Gone is the single coil brilliance of the Larry Campbell/Charlie Sexton period. Instead, we have the darker humbucking sound of Mike Campbell. Add to that the brilliance of David Hidalgo's accordian work, a sound that so suits Dylan it's amazing he hasn't used it more in the past, and you end up with a tight, unified sound. This is a minor collection, to be sure, but one with an overall unity which is absent from earlier Dylan albums which fall into this category. Taken on its own terms, I think it's very good indeed.

Dylan still producing the goods
This recording features Dylan's gutsy blues style that has been present on and off throughout his career. It is not a classic, but still better than could be expected for someone of 68, showing that he is perhaps returning more and more, via his track choices and sentiments to his early rural youth influences, and the folk/blues that is indelibly imprinted in his soul. The lyrics alternate between light and dark, nothing too profound, but musically this sound from his latest band is very good indeed including the feature of the much wondered about accordian. Well done Bob, keep 'em coming, and your lifetime fans guessing what the next one will be like.

The blood of the land is still in his voice
If you come to this album expecting the dazzling wordplay of Visions of Joanna or It's Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding you will not find it. That is because it is in that simpler lyrical style Dylan has adopted as he approaches his seventh decade, a simplicity that still can deliver devastating insights and original images. It is great Dylan , as good as anything he has done in the last 10 years, at least. Also, he is aided by a great bunch of musicians which makes it a richer sonic experience than , say , the much lauded Modern Times. He sings with real feeling on every track, and there is no filler. A worthy addition to the canon.